HBO Max

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Paramount tries to swipe Warner Bros. from Netflix with a hostile takeover

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Although the US Department of Justice (DOJ) holds the power to block mergers that it deems to go against antitrust laws, Trump’s influence over the DOJ can’t be overlooked. While Paramount previously seemed to establish a good relationship with the president, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos may have done the same recently.

Sarandos “spoke with the president in the last couple of weeks in a confab that lasted about two hours,” The Hollywood Reporter reported on Sunday, citing “multiple” anonymous sources. A White House official told the publication that they can’t comment on “private meetings that may or may not have occurred,” and Netflix didn’t respond to the publication’s requests for comment.

Meanwhile, Trump’s relationship with the Ellisons and Paramount may have taken a turn recently. Today, the president lashed out at Paramount over an interview with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) that aired on the news program 60 Minutes. As he said on Truth Social, per The Hollywood Reporter: “My real problem with the show, however, wasn’t the low IQ traitor, it was that the new ownership of 60 Minutes, Paramount, would allow a show like this to air. THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERSHIP, who just paid me millions of Dollars for FAKE REPORTING about your favorite President, ME! Since they bought it, 60 Minutes has actually gotten WORSE.”

Appealing to the movie theater industry

The movie theater industry is one of the biggest critics of Netflix’s WB acquisition due to fear that the streaming leader won’t release as many movies to theaters for as long and may drive down licensing fees. Paramount is leaning into this trepidation.

As one of the oldest film studios (Paramount was founded as Famous Players Film Company in 1912), Paramount has much deeper ties to the theater business. Ellison claimed that if Paramount and WBD merge, there will be “a greater number of movies in theaters.”

Sarandos said last week that Netflix plans to maintain WBD’s current theater release schedule, which reportedly goes through 2029.

In terms of streaming, Paramount’s announcement pointed to a “combination of Paramount+ and HBO Max,” lending credence to a November report that Paramount would fold HBO Max into its own flagship streaming service if it buys WBD.

With numerous industries, big names, billions of dollars, and politics all at play, the saga of the WBD split and/or merger is only just beginning.

This article was updated on December 8 at 2: 31 p.m. ET with comment from Sarandos. 

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Netflix’s $72B WB acquisition confounds the future of movie theaters, streaming

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Netflix’s plans to own HBO Max, DC Comics, Harry Potter to face regulatory scrutiny.

The bidding war is over, and Netflix has been declared the winner.

After flirting with Paramount Skydance and Comcast, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has decided to sell its streaming and movie studios business to Netflix. If approved, the deal is set to overturn the media landscape and create ripples that will affect Hollywood for years.

$72 billion acquisition

Netflix will pay an equity value of $72 billion, or an approximate total enterprise value of $82.7 billion, for Warner Bros. All of WBD has a $60 billion market value, NBC News notes.

The acquisition will take place after WBD completes the split of its streaming and studios businesses, which includes its film and TV libraries and the HBO channel, and its other TV networks, including CNN and TBS, into separate companies (Warner Bros. and Discovery Global, respectively). WBD’s split is expected to finish in Q3 2026.

Additionally, Netflix’s acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals, WBD shareholder approval, and other “customary closing conditions.”

Netflix expects the purchase to net it more subscribers, higher engagement, and “at least $2–3 billion of cost savings per year by the third year,” its announcement said.

Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said in a statement that Netflix will use its global reach and business model to bring WB content to “a broader audience.”

The announcement didn’t specify what this means for current WBD staff, including WBD’s current president and CEO, David Zaslav. Gunnar Wiedenfels, who is currently CFO of WBD, is expected to be the CEO of Discovery Global after WBD split.

Netflix to own HBO Max

Netflix will have to overcome regulatory hurdles to complete this deal, which would evolve it from a streaming king to an entertainment juggernaut. If completed, the world’s largest streaming service by subscribers (301.63 million as of January) will own its third biggest rival (WBD has 128 million streaming subscribers, most of which are HBO Max users).

The acquisition would also give Netflix power over a mountain of current and incoming titles, including massive global franchises DC Comics, Game of Thrones, and Harry Potter.

If the deal goes through, Netflix said it will incorporate content from WB Studios, HBO Max, and HBO into Netflix. Netflix is expected to keep HBO Max available as a separate service, at least for the near term, Variety reported today. However, it’s easy to see a future where Netflix tries to push subscriptions bundling Netflix and HBO Max before consolidating the services into one product that would likely be more expensive than Netflix is today. Disney is setting the precedent with its bundles of Disney+ and the recently acquired Hulu, and by featuring a Hulu section within the Disney+ app.

Before today’s announcement, industry folks were concerned about Netflix potentially owning that much content while dominating streaming. However, Netflix said today that buying WB would enable it to “significantly expand US production capacity and continue to grow investment in original content over the long term, which will create jobs and strengthen the entertainment industry.”

Uniting Netflix and HBO Max’s libraries could make it easier for streaming subscribers to find content with fewer apps and fewer subscriptions. However, subscribers could also be negatively impacted (especially around pricing) if Netflix gains too much power, both as a streaming company and media rights holder.

In WBD’s most recent earnings report, its streaming business reported $45 million in quarterly earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Netflix reported a quarterly net income of $2.55 billion in its most recent earnings report.

Netflix hasn’t detailed plans for the HBO cable channel. But given Netflix’s streaming ethos, the linear network may not endure in the long term. But since the HBO brand is valuable, we expect the name to persist, even if it’s just as a section of prestige titles within Netflix.

“A noose around the theatrical marketplace”

Among the stakeholders most in arms about the planned acquisition is the movie theater industry. Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos has historically seen minimal value in theaters as a distribution method. In April, he said that making movies “for movie theaters, for the communal experience” is “an outmoded idea.”

Today, Sarandos said that under Netflix, all WB movies will still hit theaters as planned, which brings us through 2029, per Variety.

During a conference call today, Sarandos said he has no “opposition to movies in theaters,” adding, per Variety:

My pushback has been mostly in the fact of the long exclusive windows, which we don’t really think are that consumer-friendly. But when we talk about keeping HBO operating, largely as it is, that also includes their output movie deal with Warner Bros., which includes a life cycle that starts in the movie theater, which we’re going to continue to support.

Notably, the executive said that “Netflix movies will take the same strides they have, which is, some of them do have a short run in the theater beforehand.”

Anticipating today’s announcement, the movie theater industry has been pushing for regulatory scrutiny over the sale of WB.

Michael O’Leary, CEO and president of Cinema United, the biggest exhibition trade organization, said in a statement today about the Netflix acquisition:

Regulators must look closely at the specifics of this proposed transaction and understand the negative impact it will have on consumers, exhibition, and the entertainment industry.

In a letter sent to Congress members this month, an anonymous group that described itself as “concerned feature film producers” wrote that Netflix’s purchase of WB would “effectively hold a noose around the theatrical marketplace” by reducing the number of theatrical releases and driving down the price of licensing fees for films after their theatrical release, as reported by Variety.

Up next: Regulatory hurdles

In the coming weeks, we’ll get a clearer idea of how antitrust concerns and politics may affect Netflix’s acquisition plans.

Recently, other media companies, such as Paramount, have been accused of trying to curry favor with US President Donald Trump in order to get deals approved. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) could try to block Netflix’s acquisition of WB. But there’s reason for Netflix and WB to remain optimistic if that happens. In 2017, Time Warner and AT&T successfully defeated the DOJ’s attempted merger block.

Still, Netflix and WB have their work cut out for them, as skepticism around the deal grows. Last month, US Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote to the DOJ’s antitrust division urging that any WB deal “is grounded in the law, not President Trump’s political favoritism.”

In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi last month, Rep. Darrel Issa (R-Calif.) said that buying WB would “enhance” Netflix’s “unequaled market power” and be “presumptively problematic under antitrust law.”

In a statement about Netflix’s announcement shared by NBC News today, a spokesperson for the California attorney general’s office said:

“The Department of Justice believes further consolidation in markets that are central to American economic life—whether in the financial, airline, grocery, or broadcasting and entertainment markets—does not serve the American economy, consumers, or competition well.”

Netflix’s rivals may also seek to challenge the deal. Attorneys for Paramount questioned the “fairness and adequacy” of WBD’s sales process ahead of today’s announcement.

Photo of Scharon Harding

Scharon is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica writing news, reviews, and analysis on consumer gadgets and services. She’s been reporting on technology for over 10 years, with bylines at Tom’s Hardware, Channelnomics, and CRN UK.

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Mad Men’s 4K debut botched by HBO Max streaming episode with visible crewmembers

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Streaming services have a way of reviving love for old shows, and HBO Max is looking to entice old and new fans with this month’s addition of Mad Men. Instead, viewers have been laughing at the problems with the show’s 4K premiere.

Mad Men ran on the AMC channel for seven seasons from 2007 to 2015. The show had a vintage aesthetic, depicting the 1960s advertising industry in New York City.

Last month, HBO Max announced it would modernize the show by debuting a 4K version. The show originally aired in SD and HD resolutions and had not been previously made available in 4K through other means, such as Blu-ray.

However, viewers were quick to spot problems with HBO Max’s 4K Mad Men stream, the most egregious being visible crew members in the background of a scene.

The episode was “Red in the Face” (Season 1, Episode 7), which was reportedly mislabeled. In it, Roger Sterling (John Slattery) throws up oysters. In the 4K version that was streaming on HBO Max, viewers could see someone pumping a vomit hose to make the fake puke flow.

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Higher prices, simpler streaming expected if HBO Max folds into Paramount+

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If a company acquires any form of HBO, one of its top challenges is expected to be streamlining operations while maintaining HBO’s premium brand. This could be especially difficult under a “more mainstream umbrella like Paramount+,” Alderman noted.

Streaming has already diluted the HBO brand somewhat. Through streaming, HBO is now associated with stuff from DC Comics and Cartoon Network, as well as reality shows, like 90 Day Fiancé and Naked and Afraid. Merging with Paramount+ or even Netflix could expand the HBO umbrella further.

That expanded umbrella could allow a company like Paramount to better compete against Netflix, something WBD executives have shied away from. HBO Max is “not everything for everyone in a household,” JB Perrette, WBD’s streaming president and CEO, said this spring.

“What people want from us in a world where they’ve got Netflix and Amazon [Prime Video] are those things that differentiate us,” Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, told The Wall Street Journal in May.

A “stress test” for more streaming mergers

Aside from the impact on HBO Max subscribers, WBD’s merger talks have broad implications. A deal would open the door for much more consolidation in the streaming space, something that experts have been anticipating for some years and that addresses the boom of streaming services. Per Clark, discussions of a Paramount-WBD merger are “less about two studios joining forces and more about a stress test for future M&A.”

If WBD accepts a Paramount bid and that bid clears regulatory hurdles, it would signal that “premium content under fewer umbrellas is back in play,” Clark said.

A Paramount-WBD merger is likely to speed up consolidation among mid-tier players, like NBCUniversal, Lionsgate, and AMC, Alderman said, pointing to these companies’ interest in scaling their streaming businesses and in building differentiated portfolios to counter Netflix and Disney+’s expansive libraries.

If Paramount and WBD don’t merge, Clark expects to see more “piecemeal” strategies, such as rights-sharing, joint venture bundles, and streaming-as-a-service models.

Higher prices, simpler streaming expected if HBO Max folds into Paramount+ Read More »

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HBO Max subscribers lose access to CNN livestream on November 17

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HBO Max subscribers will no longer be able to watch CNN from the streaming platform as of November 17, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) informed customers today.

After this date, HBO Max subscribers will still be able to watch some CNN content, including shows and documentaries, on demand.

The CNN Max livestream for HBO Max launched as an open beta in September 2023. Since then, it has featured live programming from CNN’s US arm and CNN International, as well as content made specifically for HBO Max.

WBD is pulling HBO Max’s CNN channel as it prepares to launch a standalone CNN streaming service, inevitably introducing more fragmentation to the burgeoning streaming industry. The streaming service is supposed to launch this fall and provide access to original CNN programing and journalism, including “a selection of live channels, catch-up features, and video-on-demand programming,” a May announcement said.

In a statement today, Alex MacCallum, EVP of digital products and services for CNN, said:

CNN has benefitted tremendously from its two years of offering a live 24/7 feed of news to HBO Max customers. We learned from HBO Max’s large base of subscribers what people want and enjoy the most from CNN, and with the launch of our own new streaming subscription offering coming later this fall, we look forward to building off that and growing our audience with this unique, new offering.

WBD will sell subscriptions to CNN’s new streaming service as part of an “All Access” subscription that will include the ability to read paywalled articles on CNN’s website.

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HBO Max is “way underpriced,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO says

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Consumers in America would pay twice as much 10 years ago for content. People were spending, on average, $55 for content 10 years ago, and the quality of the content, the amount of content that we’re getting, the spend is 10 or 12 fold and they’re paying dramatically less. I think we want a good deal for consumers, but I think over time, there’s real opportunity, particularly for us, in that quality area, to raise price.

A question of quality

Zaslav is arguing that the quality of the shows and movies on HBO Max warrants an eventual price bump. But, in general, viewers find streaming services are getting less impressive. A Q4 2024 report from TiVo found that the percentage of people who think the streaming services that they use have “moderate to very good quality” has been declining since Q4 2021.

Bar graph From TiVO's Q4 2024 Video Trends report.

From TiVO’s Q4 2024 Video Trends report.

Credit: TiVo

From TiVO’s Q4 2024 Video Trends report. Credit: TiVo

Research also points to people being at their limit when it comes to TV spending. Hub Entertainment Research’s latest “Monetizing Video” study, released last month, found that for consumers, low prices “by far still matters most to the value of a TV service.”

Meanwhile, niche streaming services have been gaining in popularity as streaming subscribers grow bored with the libraries of mainstream streaming platforms and/or feel like they’ve already seen the best of what those services have to offer. Antenna, a research firm focused on consumer subscription services, reported this month that specialty streaming service subscriptions increased 12 percent year over year in 2025 thus far and grew 22 percent in the first half of 2024.

Zaslav would likely claim that HBO Max is an outlier when it comes to streaming library dissatisfaction. Although WBD’s streaming business (which includes Discovery+) turned a $293 million profit and grew subscriber-related revenue (which includes ad revenues) in its most recent earnings report, investors would likely be unhappy if the company rested on its financial laurels. WBD has one of the most profitable streaming businesses, but it still trails far behind Netflix, which posted an operating income of $3.8 billion in its most recent earnings.

Still, increasing prices is rarely welcomed by customers. With many other options for streaming these days (including free ones), HBO Max will have to do more to convince people that it is worth the extra money than merely making the claim.

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Peacemaker S2 trailer finds our anti-hero in a parallel world

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HBO Max dropped the hotly anticipated full trailer for S2 of Peacemaker—James Gunn’s Emmy-nominated series spun off from his 2021 film, The Suicide Squad—at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend.

(Spoilers for S1 below.)

As previously reported, the eight-episode first season was set five months after the events of The Suicide Squad. Having survived a near-fatal shooting, Peacemaker—aka Christopher Smith—is recruited by the US government for a new mission: the mysterious Project Butterfly, led by a mercenary named Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji). The team also includes A.R.G.U.S. agent John Economos (Steve Agee) of the Belle Reve Penitentiary, National Security Agency agent and former Waller aide Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), and new team member Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks).

Project Butterfly turned out to be a mission to save Earth from an alien species of parasitic butterfly-like creatures who took over human bodies. The misfit members of the project eventually succeeded in defeating the butterflies in a showdown at a ranch, and even survived the carnage despite some severe injuries.

Cena, Brooks, Holland, Agee, and Stroma are all back for S2, along with Nhut Lee as Judomaster and Eagly, of course. Robert Patrick is also listed in the S2 cast, reprising his role as Chris’ father, Auggie. New cast members include Frank Grillo as Rick Flagg Sr. (Grillo voiced the role in the animated Creature Commandos), now head of A.R.G.U.S. and out to avenge his son’s death; Tim Meadows as A.R.G.U.S. agent Langston Fleury; Sol Rodriguez as Sasha Bordeaux; and Michael Rooker as Red St. Wild, described as Eagly’s “nemesis.”

The events of S1 played out within the old DCEU, while S2 takes place in the new DCU, but Gunn has said that those earlier events are nonetheless considered “canon,” apart from the cameos by DCEU Justice League members. S2 is part of Gunn’s “Gods and Monsters” slate; Cena’s Peacemaker even made a brief cameo in Superman. This time around, Chris will be struggling “to reconcile his past with his newfound sense of purpose while continuing to kick righteous evil-doer butt in his misguided quest for peace at any cost,” per the official synopsis.

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The Justice League is not impressed in Peacemaker S2 teaser

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Cena, Brooks, Holland, Agee, and Stroma are all back for S2, along with Nhut Lee as Judomaster and Eagly, of course. Robert Patrick is also listed in the S2 cast, reprising his role as Chris’ father, Auggie; since Chris killed him in S1, one assumes Auggie will appear in flashbacks, hallucinations, or perhaps an alternate universe. (This is a soft reboot, after all.) New cast members include Frank Grillo as Rick Flagg Sr. (Grillo voiced the role in the animated Creature Commandos), now head of A.R.G.U.S. and out to avenge his son’s death; Tim Meadows as A.R.G.U.S. agent Langston Fleury; and Sol Rodriguez as Sasha Bordeaux.

Set to “Oh Lord” by Foxy Shazam, the teaser opens with Leota driving Chris to a job interview, assuring him, “They’re gonna be doing backflips to get you to join.” It turns out to be an interview with Justice League members Green Lantern/Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl/Kendra Saunders (Isabel Merced), and Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn), but they are not really into the interviewing process or taking note of Chris’ marksmanship and combat skills. They even diss poor Chris while accidentally keeping the microphone turned on: “This guy sucks.” (All three reprise their roles from Superman and are listed as S2 cast members, but it’s unclear how frequently they will appear.)

The other team members aren’t faring much better. They saved the world from the butterflies; you’d think people would treat them with a bit more respect, if not as outright heroes. Leota is “living in the worst level of Grand Theft Auto,” per John Economos; Emilia Harcourt has anger management issues and is diagnosed with “a particularly severe form of toxic masculinity”; and Vigilante is working in the food service industry. There’s not much detail as to the plot, apart from Chris going on the run from A.R.G.U.S., but the final scene shows Chris walking through a door and encountering another version of himself. So things are definitely about to get interesting.

The second season of Peacemaker will premiere on Max on August 21, 2025.

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The Sisterhood faces a powerful foe in Dune: Prophecy trailer

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Dune: Prophecy will premiere on HBO and Max on November 17, 2024.

New York Comic-Con kicked off today and among the highlights was an HBO panel devoted to the platform’s forthcoming new series, Dune: Prophecy—including the release of a two-and-a-half-minute trailer.

As previously reported, the series was announced in 2019, with director Denis Villeneuve serving as an executive producer and Alison Schapker (Alias, Fringe, Altered Carbon) serving as showrunner. It’s a prequel series inspired by the novel Sisterhood of Dune, written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, exploring the origins of the Bene Gesserit.  The first season will have six episodes, and it’s unclear how closely the series will adhere to the source material. Per the official premise:

Set 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides, Dune: Prophecy follows two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit.

Emily Watson co-stars as Valya Harkonnen, leader of the Sisterhood, with Olivia Williams playing her sister, Tula Harkonnen. Mark Strong plays Emperor Javicco Corrino, while Jodhi May plays Empress Natalya, and Sarah-Sofie Boussnina plays Princess Ynez.

The cast also includes Shalom Brune-Franklin as Mikaela, a Fremen woman who serves the royal family; Travis Fimmel as Desmond Hart, “a charismatic soldier with an enigmatic past”; Chris Mason as swordsman Keiran Atreides; Josh Heuston as Constantine Corrino, the illegitimate son of Javicco; Edward Davis as rising politician Harrow Harkonnen; Tabu as Sister Francesca, the Emperor’s former lover; Jihae as Reverend Mother Kasha, the Emperor’s Truthsayer; Faoileann Cunningham as Sister Jen; Chloe Lea as Lila; Jade Anouka as Sister Theodosia; and Aoife Hinds as Sister Emeline.

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Witness the rise of the Bene Gesserit in new Dune: Prophecy teaser

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True power begins with control —

“Our hands are poised on the levers of power but yet our grasp on it is still fragile.”

–

The HBO Original Series Dune: Prophecy will premiere this November.

Fans of director Denis Villeneuve’s epic two-part film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune have no doubt been curious about the upcoming HBO Max series, Dune: Prophecy. It’s a prequel series inspired by the novel Sisterhood of Dune, written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, exploring the origins of the Bene Gesserit. The studio just dropped a tantalizing teaser rife with political intrigue, ominous warnings, and a bit of hand-to-hand combat.

The series was first announced in 2019, with Villeneuve serving as an executive producer and Alison Schapker (Alias, Fringe, Altered Carbon) serving as showrunner. The first season will consist of six episodes, and it’s unclear how closely the series will adhere to the source material. Per the official premise:

Set 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides, Dune: Prophecy follows two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit.

Emily Watson co-stars as Valya Harkonnen, leader of the Sisterhood, with Olivia Williams playing her sister, Tula Harkonnen. Mark Strong plays Emperor Javicco Corrino, described as “a man from a great line of war-time Emperors, who is called upon to govern the Imperium and manage a fragile peace,” while Jodhi May plays Empress Natalya, and Sarah-Sofie Boussnina plays Princess Ynez.

The cast also includes Shalom Brune-Franklin as Mikaela, a Fremen woman who serves the royal family; Travis Fimmel as Desmond Hart, described as “a charismatic soldier with an enigmatic past”; Chris Mason as swordsman Keiran Atreides; Josh Heuston as Constantine Corrino, the illegitimate son of Javicco; Edward Davis as rising politician Harrow Harkonnen; Tabu as Sister Francesca, the Emperor’s former lover; Jihae as Reverend Mother Kasha, the Emperor’s Truthsayer; Faoileann Cunningham as Sister Jen; Chloe Lea as Lila; Jade Anouka as Sister Theodosia; and Aoife Hinds as Sister Emeline, all acolytes at the Sisterhood School.

Power = control

A short teaser was shown in May during the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront presentation in New York City. It was heavy on the exposition, with a voiceover describing the founding of a sisterhood assigned to the Great Houses “to help them sift truth from lies.” The result was a “network of influence throughout the Imperium… but power comes with a price.” They want to place a Sister on the throne and arrange a marriage to make it possible. Not all the Sisters were on board with the plan, however, with one warning that the Sisterhood was playing god “and we will be judged for it.”

This latest teaser opens with an admonition to acolytes of the Sisterhood: “You wish to serve the Great Houses and shape the flow of power; you must first exert power over yourself.” The emperor seems to be easily wooed by the “sorceresses,” much to his empress’s chagrin, but the more influence the Sisterhood wields, the more enemies it gains. Desmond Hart also has his suspicions about the Sisterhood, probably with good reason. “Our hands are poised on the levers of power but yet our grasp on it is still fragile,” Valya tells her sister Tula, assuring her that “I am trying to protect the Imperium”—and “sacrifices must be made.”

Dune: Prophecy premieres this November on Max.

Listing image by HBO Max

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Choose your side in a civil war with House of the Dragon’s dueling S2 trailers

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Green vs. Black —

Is it a war for the good of the realm, or the “satisfaction of vengeance”?

–

This short teaser for S2 of HBO’s House of the Dragon lets you choose between two full trailers.

It’s been a long wait for the second season of HBO’s House of the Dragon, in which House Targaryen descends into civil war over the heir to the Iron Throne. It’s set to premiere in June, and HBO is ramping up its marketing with a rather clever twist: not one official trailer, but two, each presenting the perspective of one side in the bloody conflict. And we get to choose which trailer we’d like to view—although if you’re like us, you’ll elect to watch both.

(Spoilers for the first season below.)

As I’ve written previously, HBO’s House of the Dragon debuted in 2022 with a solid, promising pilot episode, and the remainder of the season lived up to that initial promise. The series is set nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and chronicles the beginning of the end of House Targaryen’s reign. The primary source material is Fire and Blood, a fictional history of the Targaryen kings written by George R.R. Martin. As book readers know, those events culminated in a civil war and the extinction of the dragons—at least until Daenerys Targaryen came along.

The first season spanned many years and made some pretty significant time jumps, which in turn required replacing the younger actors as their characters aged. The S1 finale brought Westeros to the brink of civil war. King Viserys (Paddy Considine) died, and his second wife, Alicent (Olivia Cooke), conspired with her father, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), to crown her eldest son, Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), as king instead of Viserys’ declared heir apparent, Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy).

This kicked off a lot of political maneuvering as both sides tried to shore up support for their chosen heir in preparation for the inevitable fight. Even though she was technically the rightful heir, Rhaenyra actually seemed to be considering House Hightower’s conditions for concession—until the arrogant Prince Aemon (Ewan Mitchell), Alicent’s younger son, went after Rhaenyra’s young son, Lucerys (Elliot Grihault). Both dragonriders failed to control their dragons, and Aemon’s much bigger dragon, Vhagar, gobbled up poor Lucerys and his little dragon, Arrax, in mid-air. The season closed with Rhaenyra and her husband/uncle Daemon (Matt Smith) receiving the devastating news, effectively dashing any hope of a peaceful resolution.

Most of the S1 main cast members are returning for S2 (those whose characters survived). And we have some new faces in the mix: Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull; Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers; Freddie Fox as Ser Gwayne Hightower; Simon Russell Beale as Ser Simon Strong; Clinton Liberty as Addam of Hull; Jamie Kenna as Ser Alfred Broome; Kieran Bew as Hugh; Tom Bennett as Ulf; Tom Taylor as Lord Cregan Stark; and Vincent Regan as Ser Rickard Thorne.

The first teaser for S2 dropped in December during CCXP23 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. We got the expected footage of dragons and dragonriders, a beheading, troops gathering and getting wiped out by dragon fire, and Rhaenyra and Aemon facing off with their dragons. And we also had a brief glimpse of a particularly brutal plot point in the source material that we already know closes out S2 (i.e., the “Blood and Cheese” incident, well-known to book readers).

As for the two new trailers, if your loyalties are with the claimed “rightful heir” Rhaenyra and the Blacks, this is the trailer for you:

Official Black trailer.

But perhaps you’d prefer to side with Greens, i.e., Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower and her odious offspring, Aegon Targaryen, who has laid claim to the Iron Throne as King Aegon II:

Official Green trailer.

The second season of House of the Dragon premiers on HBO on June 16, 2024.

Listing image by HBO

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4 Media Streaming Trends We Noticed in 2022

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